Gu Family Book (2013)

Choi Kang Chi's, who is a gumiho (fox with nine tails), human mother fell in love with Gu Wal Ryung, the guardian god of the Jiri Mountains. Chased by their enemies, Seo Hwa sends Kang Chi in a basket down the river so that he will not be captured. The Choi family finds baby Kang Chi floating in the river and raise him. Kang Chi discovers his true identity by chance one read moreday, and he becomes determined to become a real human.

Native title:

구가의서

Also Known as:

Guga Uiseo; Gugaeuiseo; Ancient Medical Book; The Writings of Nine Houses ; Book of the House of Gu ; Guga Medical Book

Please forgive me if this review's going to be a little unconventional, I'm in no mood for serious considerations on a drama that doesn't take itself too seriously. The followings are random conversations between me and my watching partner, aka my husband (H). Try to imagine us as the two old men at the end of The Muppet Show.

H: Why the heck is he (Seung Gi) pining for that almost sister read moreof his when he can have the prettier and much nicer one (Suzy)?
Me: He thinks she's a boy.
H: Rrrrrright. And the winner of Genius of the Year is…
[Kang Chi finds out Yeo Wol's a girl in a slightly unorthodox way]
H: Ok, I take back everything I've said before: the guy IS a genius!!!!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
[scene: Kang Chi and Yeo Wol are staring into each other's eyes]
H: Whoa, he's finally going to kiss the girl
Me: Hmm, I wouldn't be that optimistic.
H: Trust me, he has that glint in his eyes. He's going to kiss her, I tell you!
Music: "Saranghaee, saranghaeeeeeeeeee, SARANGHAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"
[more staring followed by sudden wrist grabbing]
H: Finally…
[off they go eating]
*collective and colourful grunts from the audience*
Me: He clearly hasn't taken after his father
H: Yeah, daddy knew his business. Save the girl, hide the girl, kiss the girl, ta-da… a BABY!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
[the monk urges Kang Chi to flee for the nth time]
Me: Is that monk ever going to give a valuable advice? Nobody listens to him anyway.
H: Ikr? That monk is as useful as a concrete parachute (he used a different simile, but it can't be repeated here)

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
H: His eyes turned green! What do you think, is he going to morph into Perry Parky now?
Me: Sure, Perry Park would bomb them all, but if you want him to kiss the girl, Shin Se Gi's definitely the one to morph into.
H: Shin Se Gi had red eyes and eyeliner.
Me: True. Like daddy gumiho, now that I think of it.
H: Daddy again. Are we sure Kang Chi's not the monk's child?
(references to Kill Me, Heal Me are sort of involuntary. I hereby decline every responsibility)

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Me: What do you think is that Gu Book about?
H: A kissing manual?
Me: A recipe for Kimchi, more likely.
"Saranghaee, saranghaeeeeeeeeee, SARANGHAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"

°°°°°°°°°°°°
[Kang Chi, his face half covered with a scarf, is surrounded by his comrades, all demanding to know who he is]
Me: Are we the only ones who would recognize him from a 10-km distance? I mean, the clothes, the hairdo, the bracelet…
H: I know. Perhaps they think it's the head Gisaeng incognito. After all, they share 1 neuron among the 20 of them.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Me: LOL, now that thug thinks his dongsaeng Kang Chi's gay. A gay gumiho is an interesting take of the trope
H: So he too thinks Yeo Wol is a boy? This drama should be called "The Goofy Family Book"

°°°°°°°°°°°°°
H: Ha, now he's really going to kiss the girl!
Me: You may be right this time. The moment is perfect and the song is clearly suggesting romance.
[7 and a half minutes later, the scene is still frozen like it was 7 and a half minutes before]
Me [making coffee]: Are their heads a little closer now?
H: Hmmm, I'm not sure. 2 cm closer, maybe?
Me: All right, I'm making sandwiches. And please mute that misleading Saranghae song before I explode.

°°°°°°°°°°°

To give this review some semblance of usefulness, let me conclude by saying this is a highly entertaining drama, with a good, rounded-up plot, lots of fun – although laughter is often involuntarily induced - a Seung Gi who never fails to put me in a good mood by simply existing, a lovable Suzy, a despicable villain with a certain, almost compelling elegance, good romance and a fairy-tale feel that won't let you down. Recommended to everyone looking for a light watch with glints of unexpected depth and an awesome finale . If you have a watching partner to frolic with, so much the better.

P.S. Allow me a tiny spoiler: the kiss does come, after all, much to the joy of the two Muppet Old Men.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa this drama is just WOW big times!!!!!!Every scene was better than the previous one! The only question that I was asking myself during this drama was: "Why I haven't watched this drama before?"

Why you MUST watch this drama!
- A beautiful pure love story between a gumiho Choi Kang Chi and Dam Yeo Wool
- intense with a lot of action!
- it makes you laugh
- and what I read morealways LOVE about a quality drama is that it gives you all EMOTIONS

The beginning was soooo DAEBAK! A love story between Choi Kang Chi's father and mother was something that it made me keep watching it! l And then (after the first 2 episodes) my addiction started! EVERY SCENE IS UNPREDICTABLE AND FULL OF TWISTS!!!!!
The ending of this drama is EPIC! I can't get over it and keep replaying that scene over and over! :D

Music: This drama has one of the best OSTs of all time! From the thrilling to the romantic ones! I seriously loved every ost in here!

Acting:
Suzy is a good actress,I like her, but yet her crying face seems a little fake. She pulled this off pretty good ;)
OMG! Lee Seung Gi was a major reason why I started this drama. I'm a big fan of him and in this drama he was AMAZING! OMG, while he was crying I was crying along with him :'(
The other ones are pretty good too :D

Too add one more reason why I liked this drama is that there are true quotes about life, love, friendship...
I just LOVE this kind of drama and I soooo thank writers! It's very unique and epic!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE! :D

I found the two series relatively similar, the men are strong fighters, you cry your eyes out watching random scenes (either because you cringe for the bad acting or fangirl over touching that man's perfect body), as always the main girl is annoying, stubborn as a mule and won't take no for an answer. The perfect nosy woman that people like for no apparent reason.

The difference between the two of them is the fact that Suzy can't act and Jang Geun Suk is cutter than Lee Seung Gi.

"Gu Family Book" is the best drama ever ! It is my favorite all-time korean drama and Lee Seung Gi has become my favorite actor after watching him acting in this masterpiece. I want so much a sequel before Lee Seung Gi joins the army this year ! Please, I hope somebody hears us !

i just rewatched this drama but the ending makes me sad not because yeo wool died but because they showed the tree again when they meet in the future which means kang chi will do one of two thing, 1- he will not get close to her so she would not die or 2- he will get close to her and she will die and the cycle will repeat again without ending, for me if they had not showed the future scene that would have been much better, it would have been a good ending even if it is sad.

I am watching it right now, but the acting skills of Kang Chi's mother was so bad. She couldn't even cry properly. That was the worst character and the worst actress I have ever seen. Story itself captured me in. Suzy got better at acting. Overall, I loved it.